Heretofore numerous machines have been developed for converting the energy of a pressurized fluid into rotary motion as a motor, and likewise for pressurizing fluid by rotary mechanical energy as a pump. The most common configuration for mechanical energy conversion devices of this type is the piston and cylinder structure in which the piston reciprocates in the cylinder while working in conjunction with an interconnected valve train. The well-known devices of this type are the four-cycle OTTO gasoline engine, the diesel engine and the piston-type fluid pump. Despite the wide acceptance of such machines, they still have serious deficiencies in terms of efficiency, cost, size, weight and flexibility.
Another class of mechanical energy conversion machines are those which utilize essentially rotating members rather than reciprocating members. A well-known device of this type is the Wankel internal combustion engine which has a triangular shaped piston which rotates eccentrically in an ellipsoidal cylinder. An earlier development of this general type is a rotary steam engine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 205,868 to Huston et al. Additional rotary energy conversion machines are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,430,602 to Sykora, U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,538 to Poole and U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,876 to Boyd. Each of these devices, however, suffers inherent mechanical limitations which reduce the practical utility of the device.
Therefore, there exists a need for an improved mechanical energy transformer for converting the energy of a working fluid into rotational mechanical energy and likewise for converting rotational mechanical energy into the energy of a working fluid. Such a rotary motion transformer must operate with a minimum of components, produce a smooth output power from a device of small volume and have a high energy conversion efficiency.